


Table For Two

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst and Humor, Books, Candles, Contests, F/M, Fluff and Feels, Holidays, Music, Romance, Sonic Screwdriver, Thanksgiving Dinner, Wishbones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:33:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose celebrate Thanksgiving on the TARDIS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Table For Two

 

“Doctor, what day is it, do you think?”

“Whatever day you want it to be, Rose.”

“No,” Rose shook her head. “I mean back home.”

The Doctor shrugged. “Probably somewhere ’round November 28.”

Rose gasped, causing The Doctor to give her a curious sidelong look.

“What, is there something special about that day?”

“It’s Thanksgiving!” Rose burst out. “Well, at least for Mum and me. Most Londoners don’t celebrate it, but you know my mum. She’s always looking for an excuse to celebrate something.”

The Doctor’s eyes ignited with recognition. “Ah, yes. But what’s your point?”

Rose stared at him incredulously. “Thanksgiving is about spending time with loved ones...”

Cocking his head slightly, The Doctor offered, “Do you want to be taken home? You can spend a day with your mum and then come back to the TARDIS that night.”

Rose was about to accept his proposal when she realized something else. “What about you?”

The Doctor pursed his lips. “I...I’ll just wait here. Get some work done.”

Rose was concerned. “But—”

“I haven’t got any family to go to,” The Doctor interrupted. His expression shifted somewhere dreamy and distanced. A small smile curved his lips as he mused, “Wouldn’t that have been something? You would’ve had a fantastic time, Rose. Thanksgiving with a houseful of Time Lords.” He chuckled mirthlessly before re-fixing his eyes on her. “So. You want to go to Mum?”

Rose paused before slowly shaking her head. “No, Doctor. Like I said, Thanksgiving is spending time with loved ones. That includes _you_. You’re going to celebrate Thanksgiving with me right here on the TARDIS.”

The Doctor looked gobsmacked, but Rose laid a hand over his mouth before he could protest. “C’mon, Doctor. We’ve never celebrated a national holiday together before.” Rose grinned cheekily. “Impress me.”

Sputtering a bit, The Doctor tried to come up with an excuse, but for once his brilliant mind had no comeback. At last he blew out a sharp breath that ruffled Rose’s hair. “Fine. What do you want me to get?”

—

With a whoosh Rose’s match touched down on the wick of a long candle.

“This is such a bad idea,” The Doctor groaned. “The candle could fall over and catch something on fire!”

“Good thing you have a fire extinguisher, then,” Rose laughed as she sorted through a stack of CDs she had brought. “How do you get the TARDIS to play music?”

With a relenting sigh The Doctor held out his hand. “Give.” When the CD case slapped his palm, The Doctor turned his back on her. Rose couldn’t quite see what he did, but suddenly the smooth autumn music was echoing through the TARDIS main room. Despite himself The Doctor began humming along under his breath as he sat down across from Rose.

The companions ate quietly for a long while, and then The Doctor decided to fill the silence. “Y’know, we could have done this somewhere else.” He paused. “Come to think, I had Thanksgiving with Sarah Hale once.”

Rose’s head jerked up. “Sarah Hale?” she echoed warily. “Was she, um...another companion?”

The Doctor burst out laughing and eventually ended up choking on his food. Clutching his middle he doubled over, whole form convulsing with laughter and coughs alike.

“Doctor!” Rose yelped in alarm, leaping to her feet. She thumped his back to help him, but he barely seemed to notice, instead howling all the louder.

“Oh, Rose,” The Doctor gasped when he had regained a bit of his control. “You...you need to read the book _Thank You Sarah_.”

Rose glared at him. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Sarah Hale. She was an eighteenth-century woman who convinced Abe Lincoln—I met him, by the way, he was just a fantastic fellow, had good taste in theatres...sorry, getting off track. Sarah was the woman who convinced Abe to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. She was a hero—bold and brave and stubborn and smart,” The Doctor rattled off proudly.

Rose knew from the sound of her own voice that she looked pouty as she mumbled possessively, “But she lived in the eighteenth century. Wasn’t she just some...dainty little lady?”

The Doctor’s teeth shone wolfishly in the light as he beamed. “Never underestimate dainty little ladies!” The Doctor tipped his head back, looking down his long nose speculatively at Rose. “I think you’d like Sarah,” The Doctor concluded at last, chuckling inwardly as Rose’s eyes betrayed her emotions in one word: _jealous_.

“C’mon, Doctor.” Rose grabbed his arm, hastily changing the subject. “I want to do something with you.”

“What, we haven’t done enough?” The Doctor protested.

“It’s a tradition!” Rose exclaimed. Pulling him to his feet, Rose guided The Doctor into the middle of the room. With a devious smirk she held up the wishbone of their turkey dinner and waited for him to make the connection.

“That’s a turkey bone, Rose,” The Doctor stated matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, that’s what it is,” Rose agreed. “You grab one side, I grab the other...” She looked at him expectantly, but The Doctor’s face remained blank. Rose huffed in exasperation. “You grab one side, I grab the other and we pull it apart. Whoever gets the larger side makes a lucky wish! Didn’t you have that tradition on your world?”

The Doctor shook his head. “Nah, and I’m not sure—”

“I’ll bet you didn’t do it with Sarah Hale!” Rose burst out, glowering at him.

“Oi, that wasn’t what I meant. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to test your luck against mine,” The Doctor said nonchalantly.

Rose shoved the bone in his face. “I always beat my mum. On three, Doctor.”

The Doctor grasped his end delicately, almost squeamishly. The expression on his face was less than enthusiastic.

“One. Two. Three!” Rose shouted, pulling as hard as she could. She thought she heard a strange whirring for but a split second, but she had blinked and she wasn’t certain of herself. All she was certain of was that she had won—until she saw the jagged longer piece in The Doctor’s hand.

“How—?!” Rose gasped. The Doctor whooped, a huge smile on his face.

“Well, what do you know! Looks like I’m stronger than you and your mum!”

“Let me see that!” Rose commanded, seizing the bone fragment from him.

“Hey, that’s my lucky wish you just stole!” The Doctor complained. Rose ignored him, squinting at the bone. The edge looked singed, as though something had burned through it.

“You did something to it!” Rose declared, giving The Doctor a disparaging look. Her eyes narrowed onto the sonic screwdriver hanging sloppily halfway out of his leather jacket. “Oh, you _didn’t_.”

The Doctor blinked innocently. “Didn’t what?”

“You cut the bone with your screwdriver when I blinked!”

“Hey, even I’m not that fast,” The Doctor objected.

“That makes you even guiltier!” Rose announced. “You’re in denial, Doctor!”

“We can’t put it back together, so I guess we’ll never find out if it could have gone any other way.” The Doctor folded his arms. “Can I make my wish now, please?”

Grumbling under her breath, Rose handed the shattered bone back to him. The Doctor nodded his thanks, rolling the wishbone between his fingers as he considered. Then he smiled slightly.

“I wish...” he breathed. Rose watched a strange expression flit across The Doctor’s face. Then it was gone, and he shrugged. “Okie-doke, we’re done with that.” Throwing the bone over his shoulder, The Doctor strode to the control panel. “Where do you want to go now? Mesolithic age? Year Seventy-Thousand on faraway San Tega? They’ve got Lockla-Drultures for pets, and fantastic fruits dipped in this gooey stuff—oh, or maybe we should go meet Sarah Hale, since you have such an interest?” The Doctor winked at her.

Rose groaned. If The Doctor kept up this mood, it was going to be a long night.

 


End file.
